About Us

Michael Quilling has functioned as a receiver in cases throughout the United States and Canada and he also represented financial institutions, companies, and individuals in all aspects of bankruptcy matters under Chapters 11 and 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. He now devotes almost all his time to managing the Trust. Mr. Quilling is 62 years old and has been practicing law in Dallas, Texas since he was 24. He is the founder of the Quilling Selander Lownds Winslett & Moser P.C. law firm which has about 70 lawyers. He attended the University of Georgia for both undergraduate school and law school. Mr. Quilling has extensive experience in the life settlement/viatical industry and served as the receiver in the ABC Viaticals case (Dallas), the Secure Investments case (Sacramento), and as special counsel to the receiver in the Trade Partners case (Grand Rapids). Mr. Quilling’s paramount objective, as it has been in every case, is to get you back the most money he can. That is what you want and it’s exactly what Mr. Quilling wants.

Bert Scalzo is a fellow investor who first invested in Life Partners’ life settlements in 2007. Bert was an active investor advocate during the entire bankruptcy, including serving as chairman of the official unsecured creditors committee. Bert now serves as chairman of the court-appointed oversight board of the Trust and works closely with fellow board members and the Trustee. Bert has been a database architect/administrator since the mid-1980’s, an industry expert speaker/presenter, and has authored over a dozen technology books. As a key participant during the entire bankruptcy process, Bert provides the board with technological advice to automate the effective management of the portfolio. Bert also has and continues to regularly interact with numerous of our investors in order to keep in touch with their issues and concerns. 

Brent is an investor who holds both CFH positions and units in the pool. Brent graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a Bachelor of Science Degree, his concentration was finance. Brent has held various upper management positions throughout his lifetime. Many of you may know him from the company he launched, Life Settlement Evaluators, that was founded to assist investors who needed their portfolios revalued during the bankruptcy. Brent joined the board in August of 2018. Brent works closely with our actuary, meeting with him quarterly to review the stochastic model and premium reserve requirements for the trust.

Glenda Pirie is a fellow investor who first invested in Life Partners’ life settlements in 2007. Glenda was an active investor advocate during the entire bankruptcy, including serving on the official unsecured creditors committee. Glenda now serves on the court-appointed oversight board of the Trust and works closely with fellow board members and the Trustee. Glenda is very representative of our investors, possessing a similar background and overall financial status. Glenda was a key participant during the entire bankruptcy process, and provides the board with key insights from the average investor’s perspective. Glenda has, over the years, interacted with numerous of our investors in order to keep in touch with their issues and concerns.

Skip is a fellow investor who first invested in Life Partners’ life settlements in 2007. Skip was an active investor advocate during the bankruptcy, including serving on the official unsecured creditors committee. Skip now serves on the court-appointed oversight board of the Trust and works closely with fellow board members and the Trustee. Skip has been a practicing attorney in the Dallas metro area since the mid-1970s, spent time in the Tax Division of the Department of Justice, and currently serves as executive vice president and general counsel for Catlyn Capital. Skip was a key participant during the formation of the final bankruptcy plan, and provides the board with key insights as to the plan’s history, terms, conditions, and limitations.

Phil Loy is the only non-investor member to the Board. Phil has more than 25 years of experience in the viatical and life settlement industries. Phil was the founder and owner of AVS Underwriting, which is the oldest and largest life expectancy provider in the industry. Phil was also a founding member of LISA (Life Insurance Settlement Association) and served as a board member and treasurer for more than ten years. Phil has been instrumental in the development of much of the legislation and regulations in many of the states where there are state licensing requirements for life settlement transactions. He has served on the board since 2016.

Linda LaRue came to Dallas from Seattle over forty years ago to attend Southern Methodist University. She later graduated from SMU’s law school and has spent the last ten years at Quilling Selander Lownds Winslett & Moser P.C. where her practice has focused on bankruptcy and state court litigation. She is also licensed to practice in Florida. 

Joshua Shepherd is a Partner in the Dallas office of Quilling Selander Lownds Winslett & Moser P.C. With more than a decade of experience, Josh focuses his practice on business litigation, receiverships, and all aspects of bankruptcy law. He represents trustees, receivers, businesses, and banks in matters throughout the state. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Josh graduated from Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. Josh has been recognized as one of the “Best Lawyers in Dallas” (Bankruptcy & Workout) by D Magazine as well as having been listed to Super Lawyer’s list of Texas Rising Stars® for six consecutive years.

Cheryl Morris is a TBLS Board Certified Paralegal, Civil Trial Law with 25+ years of experience, 20 of which she has worked at Quilling Selander Lownds Winslett & Moser P.C. Cheryl has been involved in 100+ jury and bench trials, has managed more than 150 cases at a time, and has directed or coordinated efforts in numerous complex litigation and client projects, including working with Mr. Quilling on his prior receivership cases that involved thousands of investors of life settlement and viatical insurance policies. Cheryl is married to a Vietnam Marine Veteran, has nine children and step-children, is a proud parent of three Eagle Scouts and two Marines, and enjoys quilting in her spare time.

Leslie Lincoln has been working as a Paralegal at Quilling Selander Lownds Winslett & Moser P.C. since September 10, 2001. Throughout her tenure at QSLWM, Leslie has worked with Mr. Quilling as a claims administrator in life settlement/viatical industry receiver cases throughout the United States, including the ABC Viaticals case (Dallas), the Secure Investments case (Sacramento), and the Trade Partners case (Grand Rapids). Leslie attended Texas Tech University where she received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting in December 2005. Leslie is married to a second-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and they have two fur-babies (dogs).

Natalie Eilat serves as the Chief Accounting Officer of the Trust. Natalie has more than twenty years of experience in accounting providing professional services across a broad range of finance areas including SOX compliance, business process, budgeting, internal audit, and financial reporting. With more than seven years of experience in the public accounting sector, she has provided assurance services in accordance with US GAAP and IFRS to public and private businesses within the investment funds, real estate, financial services, manufacturing, and retail sectors. Natalie is a Texas Certified Public Accountant (CPA), has a BA in accounting, and a MA in Business Law. She is also a member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Institute of Internal Auditors of North America.

Nauman Poonja serves as Chief Financial Officer of the Trust. Nauman has more than fourteen years of experience in providing accounting and finance professional services across a broad range of finance areas including financial reporting, business process, budgeting, forecasting, and management reporting. He is the founder and CEO of Accounovation, an accounting firm that provides outsourced accounting and finance and CFO advisory services to small and medium-sized businesses across various industries.  Nauman is Texas Certified Public Accountant (CPA), He has his bachelor’s in accounting from University of Texas at Dallas and his MBA from University of Houston. He is also a member of Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. 

Scott Gibson is a Managing Principal in the Dallas office of Lewis & Ellis. Scott provides a diverse range of actuarial knowledge to his clients. He has been a consultant to the insurance industry since his graduation from the University of Texas in 1981.

Scott has been a consultant with L&E in the Dallas office since 1987, serving as a partner since 1993. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He served as a Board Member of the Life Insurance Settlement Association (LISA) for nearly five years starting in November 2005. He has specialized his entire actuarial career in the life insurance area. He has been working/serving the life settlement market since 2003 providing policy pricing, policy/fund valuations, and general consulting on an independent basis. This work requires strong communications skills with non-actuaries. His ability to communicate actuarial and technical issues to non-actuaries is one reason Scott is so highly regarded in this arena.

John McFarland is the Owner and CEO of NorthStar Life Services, LLC, a full-service life settlement advisory which provides full-service administration to institutional and private investors in the space with more than $10 billion in face value. Additionally, he and his team, through NorthStar Capital Management, LLC, focus on managing distressed portfolios. Working alongside bankruptcy trustees and receivers, the firm has a proven track record of maximizing returns to investors. John holds an MBA from Georgia Tech, Scheller College of Business, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University. He is currently a board member of LISA (Life Insurance Settlement Association). John is a fan of his bulldog Jasper and snowboarding.

Kimie Chenik is Executive Vice-President of NorthStar Life Services, LLC. Kimie’s diverse experience ranges from FOREX Foreign Currency Trading for HSBC Tokyo, to managing acquisitions, sales, and underwriting of mortgage-backed securities in California. More recently, she has focused on Insurance Derivative products, including premium, modeling / management and valuation of portfolios, managing and servicing some 12,000 policies with face values of more than $18 billion with some of the largest institutional investors in the market. Kimie holds a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University where she studied both Accounting and Economics. Kimie loves cats and hang-gliding.

Britta Anderson is the Director of Insured Services of NorthStar Life Services, LLC. She has a depth of knowledge and experience in life insurance servicing, policy origination, asset evaluation, risk mitigation, and client relationships. Specifically, her recent focus is in insured tracking, medical data procurement, obtaining current insured documents, and maintenance of title documentation with life insurance carriers. Britta holds a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership and Executive Coaching and Consultation from Concordia University Irvine. Britta has a Bachelors of Arts degree from the University of Washington where she majored in Communications and Political Science. Britta is invigorated by walks in nature and thrives on being a life-long learner.

Tara Bing is the Director of Client Services of NorthStar Life Services, LLC. Tara has a depth of industry exposure having worked with a life settlement provider, life expectancy underwriter and insurance servicers, spanning key service areas such as client relations, portfolio management and contract negotiation. Tara holds an MBA from Georgia State University, J. Mack Robinson College of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree from Spelman College. Tara enjoys 1000 piece puzzles and fishing.